White House Social Innovation Director to Keynote Public Leadership Dinner, April 22

Sonal Shah, director of the new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, will deliver the keynote address at the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership’s 12th annual Public Leadership Dinner on April 22.

Shah’s talk will reveal some of the plans for the new office, which President Obama created in mid-2009, and explain how the Haas community might become involved.

Formerly the head of Global Development Initiatives for Google.org, Shah also served as a vice president at Goldman Sachs, where she led the development of the company's environmental policy. Shah has received numerous awards for her work, and has earned a stellar reputation for her innovative and intelligent solutions to global development issues.

A major priority of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation is to support President Obama’s 2010 budget request to provide $50 million in seed capital for a Social Innovation Fund. The purpose of the fund is to identify the country’s most promising, results-oriented, proven entrepreneurial nonprofit ventures and to expand their reach nation-wide.

The 12th annual Public Leadership Dinner — an event that connects students, alumni, and business and community leaders — will be held at UC Berkeley's International House. A reception at 6 p.m. will be followed by the dinner and program at 7 p.m., which opens with an address by Dean Rich Lyons.

Tickets are complimentary for faculty, $30 for UC Berkeley and Haas School students, and $70 for alumni and business and community leaders. For more information, visit nonprofit.haas.berkeley.edu/pld.asp.

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